Drum roll please ....

Michelle of "Big Black Dogs" awarded me with the "I Love You This Much" award. Thank you so much Michelle, and thank you for being my friend. I met Michelle on the cooking forum, along with Lucy of "Sweets, Savories, Etc." and we have shared many creative cooking experiences since then.



So now it is time to pass the love along to a few of my favorite bloggers ...

1. Mr. Brown Thumb, who was my mentor and tutor when I entered the blogosphere, he showed me kindness and a whole lotta patience (and I mean a WHOLE LOTTA patience:) while I learned my way around blogspot. Plus he has a great urban garden blog that is well worth spending time at.

2. A Peek in Priscilla's Kitchen, the adventures of a sixteen year old in her mom's kitchen is a delightful read. Check out what delicious treats she turns out.

3. Janie the Obsessive/Compulsive Plant Collector is a friend of many years. If you have a gardening question, she is the one to ask. Janie is a Master Gardener and one of the nicest people I have had the pleasure of knowing.

4. Jean, the Seed Scatterer is another friend of many years, whose gardens will simply take your breath away.

5. Lucy of Boulder Belt Blog is a market farmer who practices sustainable farming. Without the dedicated farmers like Lucy and her husband the local food movement would cease to exist.

6. Last but not least I am awarding two exceptional young women, who have filled my life with love, joy and pride ... my two daughters, Perennial Garden Lover and The Pepper Project.

Pass on the love ...

Saturday Market Report

Today was a great day at the Coit Road farmers market, this is some of my haul ....

I also picked up some more herb plants (basil, parsley) two heirloom tomato plants and pepper plants. I am going to join my daughter, "The Pepper Project", in starting a rooftop container garden. I will post pics as soon as I get everything planted up. Notice I snagged some Morel mushrooms today, farm fresh eggs (if you look close you can still see the chicken feather? Now those are fresh eggs :), dandelion greens, hoop house tomatoes and Amish cheese.

What else was available ?

Secor's Bedding plants-tomatoes, cabbage, peppers, flowers and
hanging baskets
Burton Floral Middlefield Cheese and Butter, Maple Syrup, Jelly and
Honey, Goat Fudge,
Woodworth local hoop house tomatoes
- these are beautiful!
Vegetable and Blooming Plants & Baskets available!

Spice Hound Fresh Spices
Lake Erie Creamery goat cheese
New vendor- Herban Ninjas- Fresh cut herbs

Chocolate Garden has mortarboard & diploma molds to order that special
graduation sweet treat! Also special for summer a Citrus Surprise
collection. New this week, peanut butter and chocolate treats, yummy!

Braxton Variety has perennial plants ready for you garden- hostas,
sedum, Snow-on-the- mountain, hens & chicks.

Fresh peppermint from Gloria's Garden

Spring Hours- Saturday 8am-1pm Wednesday 10am-1pm
www.coitmarket. org
Coit Road Farmer's Market is located at the corner of Coit & Woodworth
Road in East Cleveland

In Memory of Daddy ...

In 1934 a young man left his home in the hills of E.Tennessee and migrated north looking for work. This was during the Great Depression and jobs were scarce. He took the skills learned in his Mama's kitchen, and found work as a cook with the Merchant Marine on the Great Lakes.

So I am a northern girl with southern roots, where life was hard and food was simple but filling. Growing up, my fondest memory is of Daddy making baking powder biscuits on Sunday mornings. We children would gently split them open and slather with country butter and honey that we had brought home from one of our yearly trips to Tennessee to visit our kin. The honey was put up by one of our Aunts, and had the honeycomb in it. My sisters and I used to argue over who would get "the comb".

Sarah of Homemade Experiences In The Kitchen is hosting the blogging event "Tastes To Remember", this is my humble entry.

Daddy's Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp of Salt
1/4 cup lard (I used butter:)
3/4 cup buttermilk

Sift flour, combine with baking powder and salt. Using your fingers, blend lard (butter) and flour until crumbly. Add buttermilk, stir just until dough sticks together. Turn out on a lightly floured board and knead for about a minute. Pat out, dough should be about 1/2 inch thick. Cut in rounds or squares, place on an ungreased baking sheet. For crisp biscuits, place far apart. For fluffier biscuits, place close together. Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes. Serve while hot, slather with butter and honey or homemade jam.

I Love you Daddy, and I miss you every day ...

Saturday Market Report

We celebrated Spring Fling at the Coit Road Market today, with locally grown produce. This is where you will find me every Saturday morning, spending time with local farmers and vendors. A Scientist In The Kitchen is hosting "To Market, to market ... a blogging event celebrating farmers markets everywhere. I am entering my farmers market. Correction: I stated that the tomatoes were hothouse, I have been informed by Kevin (thanks Kevin) that these tomatoes were grown in a hoop house, how cool is that ?

"A picture speaks a thousand words"

"Once upon a time there were three billy goats Gruff..."


the wee one


Scottish Pipers


Morel Mushrooms


Sweets and Flavors


Spring produce and farm fresh eggs


The Spice Hound


Carousel Farms Goat's Milk Fudge


Amish Cheese (Middlefield, Ohio)


Buttermilk Pie


Recycled Blue Jean Totes


Herban Ninjas

Market Kitchen

Stawberry Moon Festival

Strawberries are the first fruit of Spring, harvested each year during the month of June. The Full Moon of June was given the name Strawberry Moon by Native Americans. My first food blogging event is a celebration of our "first fruit", so let your creative juices flow !

All entries must be submitted by June 18th, which will coincide with the Full Strawberry Moon. Be sure to put Strawberry Moon Festival in the subject line of your email. Also your post should include a link to this event. Entries will be posted as they are submitted.

Your Name
Your Location
Name of Creation
Name of Blog
URL for blog
URL for Post
Photo of your entry

Email this info to me: ohiomom (AT) ameritech (DOT) net

Did you know ?

The Native Americans of Northeast America gave names to all the Full Moons. They kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring Full Moon. They were eating strawberries when the first European arrived in America. They crushed the berries and mixed them with cornmeal and baked them. This is the earliest version of Strawberry Shortcake ! (sources: Farmer's Almanac, University of Illinois)

Sugar 'N Spice Puffs

Melissa of Baking A Sweet Life is hosting Bread Baking Day #10 - Breakfast Breads. The following doughnut-like roll is my entry for this month's event.

This tender and sweet roll has the delicious taste of a raised doughnut.

Sugar 'N Spice Puffs

Rolls:
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sugar
1 1 /4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly grated orange peel
1 pkg. yeast
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. shortening
1 egg

Topping:
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup oats, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, orange peel and yeast. In a saucepan heat milk, water, sour cream and shortening until very warm (120 to 130 degrees F). Add warm liquid and egg to flour mixture and blend well. Beat 3 minutes on medium speed. By hand, stir in 1/2 cup oats and 1 1/2 cups flour to form a stiff dough.

On floured surface, knead in remaining 1/4 to 1/2 cup flour until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place dough in well-buttered large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Let rise in a warm place until double in bulk, about 1 hour.

Generously grease 18 muffin cups. Punch down dough, divide into 18 pieces, shape into balls. Place in greased muffin tin. Cover and let rise in warm place until double in size, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Uncover dough and bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Brush warm rolls with melted butter, then roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture.

...."are you going to scarborough fair" ?

...."parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme".

No I didn't go to Scarborough Fair, I spent the morning at the Coit Road Farmers Market, where I purchased herb plants to grow in my kitchen window. There are bedding plants, vegetable plants and spring vegetables for sale. Farm fresh cage-free eggs and spices are also available plus much more. Just a reminder, May 17th is the Spring Fling ! Click here for more information. The Coit Road Farmers Market specializes in seasonal, locally grown produce.

Slow Food Sunday Supper

Fresh-picked asparagus, new potatoes and mushrooms. from the Coit Road Farmers Market, made up today's slow food supper. I made chicken fricassee with Ohio-raised Amish chicken.

Chicken Fricassee Recipe

Poultry or meat cut into pieces and stewed in gravy.

6 pieces chicken (thighs, legs or whole cut up)
1 pound mushroom, sliced
3 spring onions, sliced
3 Tbsp. butter
3 to 4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
2/3 to 1 cup cream
1/3 cup cooking sherry
1/4 cup olive oil
Thyme
Rosemary
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Heat oil over medium-high heat in large skillet. Season and brown chicken pieces. Drain off excess oil. Add chicken broth, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, or until chicken is tender.

In medium skillet, melt butter. Add onions and cook over low heat for about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook till liquid evaporates and mushrooms just begin to stick to bottom of skillet. Pour sherry over mushrooms, add thyme, rosemary and simmer 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in flour, add cream slowly stirring constantly until mixture thickens.

Remove chicken from skillet, stir in mushroom mixture. Return chicken to skillet and heat through. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

A Burst of Lime

These lime bars have a delicate crumb crust, and a mouth-watering lime filling. They received a "10" from the food critic !


Lime Bars Recipe

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup butter

Filling:
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup lime juice

Topping:
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 to 3 Tbsp. lime juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine crust ingredients in mixing bowl, stir at low speed until crumbly. Press into the bottom of an un-greased 9X12 baking dish. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until light golden brown.

While crust is baking, prepare filling. Combine all filling ingredients, except lime juice. Blend well. Stir in lime juice. Pour mixture over the warm crust.

Return to oven and bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes, or until top is light golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack.

Combine confectioners sugar and lime juice until mixture is spreading consistency. Blend until smooth. Spread over cooled bars and dust with confectioners sugar.

Note: The original recipe called for lemon juice, I substituted lime. One change I would make when I bake these again, is to leave off the topping and just dust with confectioners sugar.

Adapted from "Pillsbury, Complete Book of Baking" (1993)

Fettuccini with Meat Sauce & Herb Focaccia Bread

My friend, Lucy, of Sweets, Savories, etc recently posted her homemade meat sauce on her blog, and I have had a craving ever since. Well today I satisfied that craving, let me tell you her sauce is excellente! I used ground Italian sausage instead of beef. And what is pasta without bread to sop up all that good sauce? This Herb Focaccia bread made a perfect partner for this pasta dish.

This dish is my entry to the foodie event being hosted by Helen of Tartelette "DMBLGIT" for June 08'.

Herb Focaccia Bread Recipe

A large, flat Italian bread that is topped with olive oil, thyme, rosemary and basil.

3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 pkg. yeast
1 cup warm water
2 Tbsp. oil
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 to 4 Tbsp. olive oil
Dried Herbs

Grease a deep dish pizza pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Add warm liquid and egg to flour mixture until moistened. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in remaining flour, and stir till dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Using dough hook, knead for 5 minutes. Cover bowl with towel and let rest for 10 minutes.

Place dough in greased pan, press into a circle. Cover loosely and let rise in warm place until double in bulk, about 30 minutes.

With fingers, poke holes in dough. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle herbs over top.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.